Caleb
|fgcolor= |image=Caleb Scavengers Comic1.JPG |imgsize= |race=Terran |faction= Kel-Morian Combine Umojan Protectorate (feigned allegiance) |gender=Male |birth= |death= |hair=Blonde |eyes=Blue |job=Salvager Engineer |family= }} Caleb was a young, inexperienced terran salvager and engineer from a farm world. Biography Early Life Caleb was born and raised on a backwater farm world, where he worked his father's farm. He grew up alongside his childhood best friend Kyra. As children, they always talked about how they would one day go on an adventure. Years later, Kyra left the planet to pursue other adventures, while Caleb stayed put. He turned to engineering and machinery as his hobby, something he became proficient at. Scavenger Sometime after the Second Great War Caleb was contacted by Kyra, who offered him a position aboard the Kel-Morian Combine scavenger vessel, the Magpie, replacing the former engineer Jonas. He worked under Captain Nero Theban, who told him that they would be scavenging a protoss ship in Terran Dominion space, a risky and illegal operation. Caleb volunteered to go on the mission, though was very nervous. Caleb was brought onto the ship, though he struggled with his suit and met the ire of fellow scavenger Orry. He followed along Captain Theban, discussing the war between the protoss and the zerg, and the value of protoss technology. Caleb's group moved on the ship's gunnery power cell, which Theban ordered Caleb to try to salvage for themselves rather than sell. Caleb tried to find the power conduit, but could only guess as he was not familiar with protoss technology.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Scavengers: Issue 1" StarCraft: Scavengers 1''' (7) (July 25, 2018) Dark Horse Comics. Eventually Caleb did find the conduit, and disconnected it, placing it in a protoss cube. As Caleb and his group left they discovered the other scavengers were being picked off by an unseen attacker. The scavengers regrouped, with Theban suggesting their return to the ship. After Gene was outraged at leaving members of the crew behind, Caleb suggested that they get weapons before proceeding. Caleb and the scavengers made it back to the ship, with members of the crew being picked off by their attacker along the way, only to find the door to their ship locked. They entered using a manual override and armed themselves, but found the bridge locked. Knowing they had been boarded and didn't have much time, Theban assigned Caleb to disconnect the docking clamps. However, before they could they were approached by footsteps, then blinded by a flash grenade. When Caleb came to, he found himself surrounded by Terran Dominion marines under Captain Barlow, who called for their arrest.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Scavengers: Issue 2" StarCraft: Scavengers '''2 (7) (August 29, 2018) Dark Horse Comics. After a brief firefight, Theban ordered the scavengers to surrender, and Barlow picked out Caleb, who was hiding behind some crates, telling him to cooperate with them. Much to the protest of his crew, he agreed, and was carried to their Liberator. On the ship Barlow informed him if the crimes his crew had committed, and that they wouldn't be flying again for a long time. Caleb tried to warn her of the hidden attacker that had slaughtered them, when Davis appeared with data taken from the ship, showing it was a prison ship harboring a Nerazim murderer. Barlow said she would destroy the ship and the Magpie, then sent Caleb back to his crew's cell. At the cell, the scavengers jeered at Caleb, calling him a traitor, but as the guard opened the door Caleb turned on him and knocked him down. The scavengered rushed and killed the guard, with Theban telling Caleb to never betray them again. The group then stormed the bridge, firing on Barlow and her crew, but Davis was able to fire the Liberator's Concord cannon anyway, destroying the protoss ship and the Magpie. Enraged, Kyra shot Barlow and proceeded to stomp her face into a bloody pulp, utterly shocking Caleb as he reflected on the girl he used to know. With the situation stabilized, Theban ordered they take the ship, when a protoss voice spoke to them through the corpses of the Dominion marines, saying they would all soon be dead.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Scavengers: Issue 3" StarCraft: Scavengers 3''' (7) (September 26, 2018) Dark Horse Comics. Theban ordered his crew to shoot the corpses, then shot Grace when she expressed concern over his United Earth Directorate loyalties. Caleb suggested to Theban that that seal themselves in the bridge and vent the ship, but Theban dismissed it, wanting to kill the Nerazim himself. Caleb then took Kyra aside, telling her that the captain had gone insane, and they should vent the ship anyway, but Kyra would have none of it, wanting to stay with her captain. The two caught up to Theban, finding Gene dead, but just then the Nerazim decapitated the captain. Caleb and Kyra tried to make it to the escape pods, but found that they had been jettisoned. Caleb suggested killing themselves in the airlock, but Kyra said she wanted to go down fighting. The Nerazim then appeared to them, telling the two that she needed one alive to pilot the ship for her. Kyra said it should be her, and Caleb, shocked and betrayed, reflected on her recruiting him on their homeworld and how happy they were. He said she should live, and the Nerazim told Kyra to kill him. But as she prepared to shoot him the Nerazim stabbed Kyra with her warp blade. Caleb was shocked, and gripped her corpse. The Nerazim then guided Caleb the cockpit of the liberator, and the two sped off to parts unknown.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Scavengers: Issue 4" StarCraft: Scavengers '''4 (7) (October 31st, 2018) Dark Horse Comics. Survivor Infiltration Caleb piloted the liberator through warp space. The Nerazim told him that she'd read the mind of one of his crew, sensing the words "Umojan job." It was connected to some kind of great power, and she wanted it. Despite her threats, Caleb told her that he'd been new to the crew, and that they hadn't told him about any such job. Still, he was able to access the liberator's files and look up what information he could. Later, Caleb made his way onto a ship bound for the planet Aeneas. While on the ship, he was approached by a young girl named Dahlia, who wanted to be friends. Caleb was taken aback by her friendly manner, and he told her that his friends were killed by pirates, and that he was alone. He was met by Dahlia's father, Frank, who told him that he would be welcome if he needed anything from them. Caleb and Frank went to work at Spearpoint Base, a Umojan munition's factory, where the foreman informed them that they were building weapons for a potential xenos invasion. Frank pointed out to Caleb that they were just as likely to use those weapons on terran enemies, and Caleb asked if he was proud of the work, to which Frank responded that he had to feed his family. Caleb threw himself into work at Spearpoint base, something that worried Frank, who confronted him about how much he closed himself off. Caleb however remained closed off, feeling guilt for the death of the crew of the Magpie, who continued to taunt him in his nightmares for his weakness. One of these nightmares woke Caleb up late, and he snuck out of the base, avoiding the guards and using a device to disable a laser gate. There he met with his captor, and Caleb was afraid she would kill him for not having found the lab. However, the Nerazim was pleased with his plan, and let him go back to his duty of finding the lab. However, she stole the device he used to disable the laser gate, telling him he would not escape. Caleb then went back to work, and one lunch decided to sit with Frank. Frank was gleeful and introduced him to Russell and Ida Briggs, fellow co-workers. Frank then took Caleb for a dinner, where he met with Dahlia again. The two discussed farming and Caleb's history as a farmer, where Caleb solemnly admitted to the death of his old friend. Before the situation could become too awkward the dinner was interrupted by a piercing scream. Caleb and Frank ran out to discover the corpse of Russell, his stomach torn open.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Survivors: Issue 1" StarCraft: Survivors 1''' (7) (July 24, 2019) Dark Horse Comics. Later, the workers are gathered and told the factory owners are investigating the murder, and they would have an answer soon. Caleb and his friends went out drinking in Russell's memory, when George told them they were looking into all of the new arrivals. Later that workday, Caleb was distracted by memories of the death of Kyra, and shorted a wire, causing him to get the attention of the shift manager Jace, who accused him of being a spy. This was interrupted by Ida Briggs, who told Jace to leave, and offered him some of her alcohol. Briggs told Caleb that she knew about his past from his file, and that if he wanted someone to talk to, or more alcohol, to just talk to her. get closer|thumb]] Frank came to Caleb later and told him him that Briggs was attracted to him, and that he should come to a card game with her that night. Caleb was noncommittal, and spent that night looking for the Umojan lab, until he ran into Briggs, and the two went to the card game. The next few days Caleb enjoyed himself at the factory and got closer to his comrades. However, one night the Nerazim awoke him with the body of Jace, telling him that it had been ten days and that he had five more. She forced him to admit he belonged to her, and vanished, leaving Jace's body on his bed. Caleb took the body in his bedsheets, and secreted it it to the waste incinerator. Later at lunch, the disappearance of Jace was noticed by Caleb's friends, who speculated he may have been a spy. Caleb asked Briggs what she thought, and she suspected he wasn't a spy. Caleb got up to leave, and Briggs stopped him, asking about him. Caleb responded that he thought it would be safe at Spearpoint, and Briggs told him that a secret weapon many powers in the sector wanted was being built at the base. She assured him that soon they would find who was behind the murders.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Survivors: Issue 2" StarCraft: Survivors '''2 (24) (August 21, 2019) Dark Horse Comics. As the base was thrown into chaos by Jace's disappearance, Caleb finally uncovered where he suspected the secret lab was: next to the base's school farm. Caleb was then met by Ida, who kissed him and told him that the Umojan Protectorate would take care of their own. Caleb later had dinner with Dahlia and Frank, where they discussed the power of the shadowguard agents that just arrived at the base. Thinking on it, Caleb left a piece of paper out one lunch with the words "killer is protoss outside of base." Downfall However, Caleb's plan backfired. While Frank, George and Caleb discussed who would make a good replacement for Jace, the Nerazim burst in, having survived the shadowguard attack, and killed George. Caleb tried to prevent her from killing Frank, but Frank saw this as a betrayal, and the Nerazim killed him as well. The Nerazim choked Caleb, demanding to know whether he sent the shadowguard, and he told her that he never "told" anyone, a technical truth that fooled her. In order to create a distraction, Caleb poured flammable liquid on Frank and George's corpses and ignited it with shorted wires. Caleb then ran to the lab, finding the Nerazim carving through the security there. He found a corpse that looked similar to Ida, but to his relief found it was not her. He came across some security, who tried to stop him but were slaughtered by the Nerazim. Caleb then opened one of the doors to the lab itself, and picked up an experimental pistol. As they went further in, they found themselves ambushed by a Umojan scientist, Dr. Robertson, wielding a large experimental anti-protoss weapon.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Survivors: Issue 3" StarCraft: Survivors 2''' (24) (September 18, 2019) Dark Horse Comics. Caleb took a nearby laser pistol, which Robertson warned him would not harm the Nerazim. Only too late she realized that Caleb intended it for her, and he shot her in the chest. Caleb was shocked that he committed such an act, but the Nerazim stated that he had done well to protect his master. She took the experimental anti-protoss gun, and forced Caleb to contact the Tal'darim and their Death Fleet to come to the world. Just then however, security burst in, and Caleb told the Nerazim he would find a ship to get them a way out while she further searched. Caleb escaped the lab, but ran into Briggs, who told him to get to an emergency shelter. Caleb tried to dissuade her by telling her it was a protoss that was on the loose, which shocked her, but when Caleb explained how much he knew about the protoss, she realized he was working with her, and pointed her pistol at him. Caleb told her he had no choice, and that when he tried to die for his companions she instead killed them. Horrified, Ida let Caleb go. He apologized and ran off. Caleb secured a ship, and the Nerazim soon met him. She told him to leave when the Death Fleet arrived, and soon they did, annihilating the base and its defenses. The Nerazim told him that he served her well, and that they would soon strike down their enemies. Though he doubted how much she could do with one gun, she assured him that she would destroy her enemies with the gun and the power source, and he would help her do so. Realizing he could not follow along anymore, Caleb looked down at his laser pistol, and fired at the console. Shocked, the Nerazim sliced Caleb's arm off, but Caleb only laughed as he bled on the floor, stating that the laser pistol did kill her in spite of what Robertson said. The ship careened into a Tal'darim mothership and exploded, consuming both ships, the Nerazim and Caleb in a fiery inferno.Houser, Jody (w), Guzmán,Gabriel (p, i). "StarCraft: Survivors: Issue 4" StarCraft: Survivors '''4 (24) (October 23rd, 2019) Dark Horse Comics. Personality and Traits Caleb was kind and naive on the politics and events of the sector at large, but had a strong sense of curiosity. He was competent with machinery, and was even able to use that knowledge to figure out the basics of protoss machines. Caleb was kindhearted and cared deeply for his friends. He was able to think up plans even in a crisis situation, and could adapt under pressure even in weird and alien situations. After the deaths of the Magpie crew, Caleb became closed off, and reluctant to open up to people. The memories of his dead crewmembers continued to haunt him, as did the betrayal of Kyra. He however continued to follow the orders of the Nerazim, convinced he was protecting others by doing so, but finally snapped after the Fall of Spearpoint Base, standing up to the Nerazim at the cost of both their lives. References Category:Terran characters in Scavengers Category:Terran characters in Survivors Category:Kel-Morian Combine characters Category:Terran technicians Category:Terran salvagers Category:Umojan characters